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From arguing with his Federal Reserve chief to dodging questions about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump has had a pretty busy week. This weekend, he's golfing in Scotland at what one of his resorts calls the greatest 36 holes of golf. But protesters are waiting, as NPR's Lauren Frayer reports from Edinburgh.
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UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: Some 40 miles off the west coast of Scotland, the islands of the Hebrides lie out in the Atlantic.
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: The sparsely populated Outer Hebrides islands are where President Trump's late mother was born. She was a native Gaelic speaker who left for New York when she was just 18. But when her son touched down in her native land this evening, the headline in a Scottish newspaper read, "Convicted U.S. Felon To Arrive." One recent poll found 71% of people in Scotland have an unfavorable view of Trump.
ALENA IVANOVA: I just want to do something and say something.
FRAYER: Alena Ivanova is with the Stop Trump Coalition, which floated a giant orange baby Trump blimp over London when he visited there. Ivanova says lots of folks here disagree with the U.S. president's policies on climate, Gaza and how much this private presidential visit will cost Scottish taxpayers in road closures and security. So they're gathering this weekend at Trump's golf courses and in several Scottish cities.
IVANOVA: This is going to be a demonstration of everything that Trump is not - of people who care about the planet, about women, about the people of Palestine. We have trade unions, we have just regular people.
FRAYER: Today, 10 regular people abseiled off an Edinburgh bridge to protest a U.S. gas tanker's passage after Trump suggested Scotland, quote, "get rid of windmills and bring back the oil."
Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond of the Scottish police told reporters that protecting people's right to protest while also protecting a U.S. president is complex and challenging.
EMMA BOND: My simple ask is for people to stay within the law.
FRAYER: On one of Trump's previous visits to Scotland in 2018, a protester managed to paraglide over one of his golf resorts with a banner reading, Trump well below par. And this week, protesters put up a sign at another of his golf resorts saying it's twinned with Epstein Island, a reference to his former friend Jeffrey and a topic Trump may have hoped to leave on the other side of the Atlantic.
Lauren Frayer, NPR News, Edinburgh. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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